Ukrainian president Poroshenko calls early election on October 26
President Petro Poroshenko set an early parliamentary election for October 26, a right the current version of the constitution gives him in the case when a parliamentary majority coalition fails to form within 30 days after the breaking of the previous coalition.
Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and Svoboda parties quit the ruling coalition on July 24.
“I have decided to stop early the powers of the Verkhovna Rada of the seventh convocation,” Poroshenko said in his decree issued late on August 25. He said the elections will be held on the last Sunday of October.
Poroshenko said he was issuing his decree “taking into account the expectations of the majority of the people of Ukraine and to keep my own word, which I gave while running for president.”
Apart from an early election, Poroshenko also promised his voters that it will be held based on open proportional system, as opposed to the current parallel system, where half of 450 deputies are elected through majority constituencies, while the other half – through closed party lists, the creation of which happens behind closed doors.
To read the full story, visit The Kyiv Post.
(Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko. Photo: president.gov.ua)
